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Legendary singer-composer Bhupen Hazarika, who wove a magical tapestry out of traditional Assamese music and lyrics, died in Mumbai on Saturday following a prolonged illness.

“It was a multi-organ failure. The end came around 4.30 pm,” Jayanta Narayan Saha, in-charge of media relations at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai.

The 86-year-old Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner was undergoing treatment at the hospital since June 29, after he complained of breathlessness. Since then he was confined to the hospital bed.

He had an infection and was on medical support and dialysis.

Hazarika’s health deteriorated on October 23, after he developed pneumonia. He had to undergo a minor surgery whereby doctors placed a food pipe into his system. The balladeer who composed his own lyrics and music last lent his voice to the film Gandhi To Hitler, where he sang Mahatma Gandhi’sfavourite bhajan ‘Vaishnav jan’.

Hazarika was regarded as one of the greatest living cultural communicators of South Asia. He had been a poet, journalist, singer, lyricist, musician, filmmaker and writer.

The Padma Bhushan awardee had celebrated his birthday this year in the ICU of the hospital on September 8 when he cut a cake and fans sang his favorite numbers.

Music maestro Bhupen Hazarika, who has been in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, is now stable. His health, which had deteriorated, has improved slightly.The doctors pronounced him out of danger, but will be keeping him under observation for some days. “This morning, Bhupenda seemed to be feeling slightly better. He interacted with us in the morning, though for a very short time. He even responded to a telephone call after I helped him receive it,” a close aide of Hazarika, who is attending to him at the hospital in Mumbai.

The doctors said his health has shown some improvement and there was nothing to worry about. “If he continues to react to the medicines in a positive manner and his health remains this way, hopefully, in the next week, he could be brought out of the ICU and kept in a general room. His vital organs are functioning normally and his blood pressure is normal as well,” his aide cited the doctors as saying.

Though Hazarika has not eaten any food, he is continuously being fed liquids through a pipe. The resident commissioner of Assam Bhawan, Debasish Sharma, who is close to Hazarika, said, “There no needs to worry about Bhupenda’s health. We are happy that he smiled this morning. His well-wishers and fans are constantly in touch with me to know about the status of his health.”

Hazarika, a noted poet, music composer, singer, actor, journalist, author and filmmaker, was admitted to the hospital on June 28 midnight after he had problems in breathing. His long-time companion, filmmaker Kalpana Lajmi, is keeping him company along with a few close aides. The music icon has been decorated with several prestigious awards including Dadasaheb Phalke Award, Padma Bhushan and Sangeet Natak Academy award.